Busy Stetson Hosts Troy State Tonight

DELAND - The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday gave most students a three-day weekend to savor. That was not the case for Stetson men's basketball team.

Even after a stretch of four Trans America Athletic Conference games in 10 days, there was little rest and recreation for the weary Hatters. After losing, 84-65, to Central Florida in Orlando to complete the road string Saturday, Stetson players spent much of Sunday in study hall sessions catching up on academic work and then had weight training and practice wrapped around more school work Monday.

``Everybody else had a holiday, but Sunday and Monday definitely weren't much of a holiday for our players,'' Stetson Coach Murray Arnold said.

The trips by jet to Shreveport, La., and by bus to Jacksonville, Boca Raton and Orlando may have thrown the Hatters behind in the classroom, but they didn't lose much ground in the TAAC standings. Going into a basketball doubleheader tonight at the Edmunds Center, the Hatters (7-8, 3-2) are in fifth place in the league.

Stetson plays Troy State (5-11, 2-4) in the men's game to open the night at 6 p.m. In the nightcap, scheduled for 8:15 p.m., the Stetson women (4-10, 2-2) try to climb back into the upper half of the league standings by beating Florida Atlantic (3-13, 1-5).

Arnold wasn't at all greedy as the Hatters packed their bags for the road. After opening TAAC play with a homecourt victory over Centenary, he said a 1-3 mark on the road swing would put the Hatters in good shape in the conference race. Stetson met that goal on its opening trip to Jacksonville, and then bagged another away victory at Florida Atlantic.

That 2-2 TAAC road mark puts the Hatters in solid position with an enviable finishing schedule. They stand in fifth place - a half game out of third - and have seven of their final 11 conference games in DeLand.

``Where we're at in the league, I told our guys we should feel reasonably good about ourselves,'' Arnold said.

Troy State (5-11, 2-4) is in a more difficult spot and trying to climb the TAAC ladder with one senior, part-time starter Aldo Hudson (6-1, Jr.).

In its debut season in the TAAC last year, Troy State was 5-11 in conference play, including an 83-67 loss at Stetson in the only meeting between the two schools since the 1958-59 season.

Defense continues to be a problem for a program that entered the league with a reputation for run-and-gun basketball. Troy State has allowed 83.9 points per game, compared to Stetson's 66.6, which ranks second in the TAAC to league leader Samford (64.3).

The Stetson women played conference leader UCF tough in a 71-63 road loss Saturday and will try to complete a regular-season sweep of FAU tonight.

The Hatters opened their TAAC schedule with a 62-55 victory over the Owls in Boca Raton, Jan. 2. Cher Dyson (5-5, So.), fourth in the league in scoring (15.8 ppg.), first in steals (3.64) and third in free throw percentage (.836), had 15 points, three assists and three steals in the victory at FAU.